Vacuum cleaner



VACUUM CLEANER Filed March 21 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet '1 IN VENT OR.

Louis BAILLY June 26, 1923. 1,459,968

L. BAILLY VACUUM CLEANER Filed March 21 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

LOUIS BAILLY June 2 6, 1923. 1,459,968

L. BAILLY VACUUM CLEANER Filed March 21 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet PlazaINVENTOR.

LUUI S BAI LLY 5 A TTORNE S June 2 6, 1923. 1,459,968

L. BAH-LY I VACUUM CLEANER Filed Marbh 21. 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 32INVENTOR;

Lows. BAILLY l l l l v fl l .ll 'l(!. 6; W

58 ATTORNEYS Patented June 26, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS BAILLY, or oommnus, OHIO, ASSIGNOR 'ro THE omo MUNICIPAL EQUIPMENTcompany, or COLUMBUS, OHIO, A CORPORATION or x10.

VACUUM CLEANER.

Application filed March 21, 1921. Serial No. 454,019.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LOUIS BAILLY, a citizenof the Republic of'France, residing at Columbus, in the county ofFranklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Vacuum Cleaners, of which the following is aspecification.

My present invention relates generally to vacuum cleaners, and moreparticularly to a vacuum street sweeper, my object being the provisionof a machine adapted for use as a street sweeper and operated bysuction, which will be simple in design and construction, and which willbe strong, durable and effective in use.

Various other objects, relating for the most part to certain details ofconstruction to be hereinafter specifically referred to, may be betterunderstood from the following description, in which reference is made tothe accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and vin which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved street sweeper,

Figure 2 is a rear elevation thereof,

, Figure 3 is a top plan view with a por tion of the cover removed,

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional View showing the arrangement of thepipes to the brushes,

Figure 5 is a detail side view of the sponge basket removed,

Figure 6 is a detail side view of the vacuum pick-up device lwhichcooperates with the brush in use,

Figure 7 is an end elevation thereof,

Figure 8 is a view similar to Fi re 7 showing the arrangement of thepick-up device in connection with the frame and its adjusting means onthe frame.

Figure 9 is adetail vertical longitudinal section showing a portion ofthe shaker mechanism,

Figure 10 is a detail fragmentary transverse section showing a portionof the shaker mechanism, 7

Figure 11 is a partial vertical transverse 50 section through the dustcollecting chamber Y and the screens,

Figure 12 is a deta1l side view of one of the screens removed,

Figure 13 is a sectional view through the dirt bag,

Figure 1 4 is a side view of the neck portiog of the dirt bag with itsclamping band, an

Figure 15 is a partial plan view of the clamping band of Figure 14.

Referring now to these figures my invention proposes a vacuum streetsweeper whose frame, generally indicated at 20, is supported upon wheels21 by means of WhlCl] it is propelled through the use of any suitablepropelling mechanism including electrical generating means which operatealso to supply current for a motor 22 located on the frame 20immediately in the rear of the operators station or cab 23. At theoperator s station, a steering wheel 2-1 may be utihzed to controlsteering movement of the front wheels 21, and a controller mechanism 25may be utilized to control themotor 22 including its speed of movement.

At the rear of the motor 22 its shaft 26 extends into the lower end ofan air discharge flue 27, into the upper end of which a sponge basket 28having a perforate bottom 29 and an open flanged top 30 i normallydisposed and held in place by a cover frame 31' detachahly fastened asat 32'so that outlet air from the fan 33 secured on shaft 26 will beforced to pass through the sponge basket and the sponges therein and theair thus filtered for removal of fine particles of dust and dirt. Thisoutlet air fiue 27 has a damper 34: intermediate its ends so that theoutlet of air through the sponge basket may be controlled. This is forthe purpose of controlling the amount of air blown rearwardly through aseries of blast pipes 35 whose forward ends are connected to theenlarged box 36 intermediate the ends of the air discharge flue 27 atpoints below the damper 34.

The rear ends of the blast pipes 35 are connected by flexible couplings37 with tapering blast nozzles 38 leading to the rear side of aninverted U-shaped saddle 39. This saddle seats over the brush 40 and isshown in detail in Figures 6, 7 and 8 with its several blast nozzles 38along its rear side and corresponding suction nozzles 41 along itsforward side. This saddle 39 which forms the suction pick-up device issupported by means of a rod 42 connected to the rear free ends of arms43 pivoted at 44 on a part of the frame 20, said rear ends resting uponthe forwardly projecting arms of bell cranks 45. The rear upright armsof these bellcranks are connected to-flexible members 46 wound upon adrum shaft 47, having a squared end 48 at one side of the frame as seenin Figure 1 and having a ratchet and dog 4921s shown in Patent 1,203,130of October 31,"

1916,.may be employed.

The several suction pipes 51 just above referred to join at theirforward ends with a pipe 52 which leads to the upper forward and smallerend'of a casing forming a dust collecting chamber and with which pipe 52communicates through an opening 53. This casing has a rear wall 54 and atop 55 and its base 56 has side portions inclining inwardly anddownwardly toward one another, the entire baseoinclining downwardly andrearwardly so as to form a trough-like dirt chute in communication atits lower rear portion with a rearwardly and downwardly angular dirtdischarge pipe 57 at the 'rear of the machine above the lower platform58 of a dirt bag holding frame 59.

Within the dust collecting chamber is a wire screen 60 having portionsspaced from the front of the casing and also spaced from the base 56,forwardly of and below a screen chamber in which are a plurality ofscreen units 61 arranged in a transverse series, each resting at itsupper end in a frame 62 and depending through lengthwise slots of thisframe as particularly seen in Figure 11. Each of these screen unitsincludes a frame 63 flanged at its top as at 64 so as to rest ontheholding frame 62, each frame 63 being covered with canvas or cloth 64 asparticularly shown in- Figures 11 and 12. The holding frame 62 restsupon brackets 65 carried by the casing and preferably having felt strips66 which frame 62 directly engages. Frame 62 has at its forward portiondepending arms 67 resting on arms 68 pivoted at their forward ends as at69 to the casing and in turn resting at their rear ends upon squaredcollars 70 rigidly secured to a cross shaft 71 all as particularly seenI in Figures 9 and 10. Shaft 71 has a squared extension 72 at one sideof the frame or casing by which it may be rotated so as to raise andlower the screen holding frame chamber is a vertical suction flue 73,whose upper end'communicates through an opening in the upper portion ofthe rear wall 54 with the space above the holding frame 62, the lowerend of the flue 73 communicating with the main suction flue 74 whichextends forwardly to the lower end of the flue 27 adjacent to the fan 33so that the upper ends of the several screen units 61 are thus subjectedto suction at all times while the fan 33 is in operation.

As shown particularly in Figures 13, 14 and 15 the base 58 of the-dustand dirt receptacle holding frame 59 has clamps 75 arranged to engageside handles 76 of the lower rigid bottom 77 of a dust holding bag 7 8,preferably formed of flexible material permitting of collapse when emptyso that.

a number of such bags can be conveniently stored on the frame. Each bagis preferably supported by metallic rings or hooks 79 and has, a reducedupper open neck portion 80 adapted to telescope around the lower openend of the dirt discharge pipe 57 to which the neck portion 80 may beconnected by a clamping band 81 detachably fastened as at 82. Thisconstruction permits of removal of a filled bag 78 and disposition of anempty bag in place during operation of the machine, it being intendedthat the filled bags may be removed from time to time and depositedalong the roadway or street being swept, for subsequent collection anddumping at any'convenient point.- V

In operation the suction of the fan. through the main suctionv pipe 74creates a suction above the several cloth covered screen units 61 and ofcourse places the entire dust collecting chamber under the in fluence ofthis suction,.as well'as the several suction pipes'51 leading to thesuction nozzles '41 of the suction pick-up saddle 39. In view however ofthe fact that the area of the dust collecting chamber is many times thatof its forward opening 53, larger particles of dirt and refuse includingpaper, which are caught by the wire screen 60, will drop within the dustcollecting chamber and pass downwardly and rearwardly along itstrough-like base 56 to the dirt discharge pipe 57, and smallervparticles of dirt'and' I dust only will be carried against the clothcovered screen units 61.. Then from time to time the shaft 72 may berotated to agitate the holding frame 62 of these sev- I eral clothcovered screen units 61 whereupon the dust and dirt clinging to theouter surface of-the cloth will be shaken oil and will fall on to thebase 56 of the dust collecting chamber for passage by gravity rear-Wardly t0 the discharge pipe 57. s

It is thus obvious that the air sucked from the dust collecting chamberthrough the rear suction pipe 73 will be free of dust and dirt exceptfor the very finest particles of dust, the latter of which are carriedthrough the fan 33 and forced upwardly through the air discharge flue 27and through the sponge basket 28 where the fine dust will be caught bythe sponges before final discharge of the air through the screened topcover 31 shown in Figures 1 and 3. Upon removal of this top cover 31 thesponges can be taken out of the sponge basket and cleansed from time totime.

By manipulation of the damper 34: more or less of the air from the blastside of the fan 33 may be caused to pass through the blast pipes 35 andnozzles 38 to the forward portion of the brush saddle 39 so as to forceair against the forward side of the brush in order to hold against thebrush for subsequent suction into the nozzles 41 particles of dirt andrefuse that may have previously escaped the-suction. i

It is obvious from the foregoing that the machine provided by myinvention is highly practical both in design and construction, iscapable of efl'ective and efficient use, and will be strong and durable,

I claim:

In a vacuum street sweeper havinga rotating brush, a hollow saddle overthe brush, suction and blast pipes, suction and blast nozzles connectedto the said saddle and flexibly joined to the suction and blast pipes, awheeled frame, and manually actuated connections on the frame for adusting the saddle and its nozzles vertically with respect to the brush,including a ,rod carried by the said saddle and its nozzles, bell cranksmounted on the frame and engaging the rod, and a manually actuatedwinding shaft having flexible connections secured to the bell cranks.

In testimony whereof I allix m si nature.

' LQUIS AI LY.

